


THE LITTLE BIG FAMILIES.

by orpheusaki



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Baby Ranboo, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, Phil and Techno are besties, Protective Technoblade, Ranboo is lovely as per usual, Technoblade is truly trying his best, Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, fluff with mild angst, they deserve happiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheusaki/pseuds/orpheusaki
Summary: "Listen kid, if you don't eat, you die. And if you die, I'll have that on my conscience for at least three weeks," Techno groans, bringing the bread up to his mouth unhappily, "And that's not fun for anyone. Emotions make me short tempered."The child obviously doesn't understand nor do they seem to care about anything other than staring straight into Techno's very soul. The man sighs in indignation, "Fine, suit yourself. But if you die of starvation under my temporary care, Philza will never let me live to see another day."Or;Technoblade finds a strange maybe-enderman child hidden away in his bushes, and decides the best idea is to obviously take it in with absolutely no prior experience with children whatsoever. Because of course.
Relationships: Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 138
Kudos: 1290





	1. ODD EYED CHILD

**Author's Note:**

> this is purely self indulgent and found family fluff with just a /sprinkle/ of angst :D

"Can you eat?" Techno asks with a frown, waving the loaf of bread around like it would somehow make the question more understandable for the little creature that sits on his floor by the fireplace.

Well, 'little' creature in the  _ metaphorical _ sense — since it's hardly  _ small.  _ Techno could see the entirety of it's half white half black (and some purple?) head peeking out from the bushes a  _ mile  _ away before he even got close to understanding that it was a  _ child.  _ One could easily mistake it as a mutant flower, especially when you're as sleep deprived as Techno walking back from the most boring hunt of his life.

But then, as he was about to completely walk by the child — it started purring. One of those whimsical endermen purrs, but there was no tall figure with purple eyes anywhere to be seen. Techno had taken a whole twelve seconds to look around for it, but to no success, he continued forth —

Until he saw the child hidden away in the bushes, it's green and red eyes (not mixed, but separately of each colour) boring into his own with morbid curiosity.

A mute, monochromatic, kind of creepy looking child; but a child no less. Techno was horrified to see it, and a part of him was ready to pretend he had never made eye contact with it  _ in the first place.  _ Walking away would have probably been the smartest idea at the time, since the Blood God is the least capable of even  _ talking  _ to a child let alone saving one. Besides, he didn't look like he needed help! In fact, the strange child seemed completely content with sitting in the bushes all by himself in the middle of the night (He should really stop calling it ' _ it _ ').

But alas, the little Philza that lives at the back of his head that occasionally gives him terrible ideas about self care and happiness would've  _ never _ forgiven him for abandoning the strange child (it's sort of his brand after all; picking up strays and that).

Now that he thinks about it, the child's features (albeit strange and not entirely human) seem similar to that of Phil's newest son (Tommy, as he's been referred to in Phil's letters; age four and a horrendous beast), meaning they're probably close in age. Which does nothing to help Techno, since it's not only a child but practically a  _ newborn  _ baby! Vile things they are.

"Food," Techno tries again, dropping the bread into the child's lap exasperatedly, "Eat? You eat food?"

The child bleakley looks down at the bread on his lap, contemplating some deep thought far too seriously for a child of his age, before staring back up at Techno in awe. The man sighs, dropping himself onto the floor, crossing his legs beneath him and challenging the child's gaze head on.

It takes him about ten seconds to realise that the child isn't just plainly staring at him in an attempt to glare Techno into submission — but rather, the child lacks eyelids and is physically  _ incapable  _ of blinking. Technoblade only feels mildly ridiculous after discovering this, as he huffs in poorly hidden annoyance, grabbing another piece of bread from the table a little too aggressively.

He never would have imagined that he, The Blood  _ God,  _ would be sitting in front of the fireplace with some odd eyed  _ child,  _ attempting to teach it how to eat a piece of bread. But the universe is just such a  _ joker. _

"Listen kid, if you don't eat, you die. And if you die, I'll have that on my conscience for at least three weeks," Techno groans, bringing the bread up to his mouth unhappily, "And that's not fun for anyone. Emotions make me short tempered."

The child obviously doesn't understand nor do they seem to care about anything other than staring straight into Techno's very soul. The man sighs in indignation, "Fine, suit yourself. But if you die of starvation under my temporary care, Philza will never let me live to see another day."

With that, Techno bites into the bread. The child finally lets out the first non-enderman sound, a surprised little gasp, as he stares in absolute shock at the way Techno chews the bread.

_ Oh _ , Techno thinks stupidly.

"Look," Techno commands, and to his surprise the child follows his hands and face. Slowly and clearly, Techno brings the small bread loaf back to his mouth, biting down with his teeth clear for the child to see. He tears off a little chunk of bread and chews exaggeratedly.

The child is gobsmacked beyond belief, then with incredible hesitance and trembling hands, they copy Techno and take a bite of the bread.

Techno can't help the small smile flash across his face when the child's already enormous eyes widen a fraction more as they taste bread.

Of course the strange child's never had  _ bread _ before, because that makes total sense. Where the hell did it come from?

He wonders more about it as the child feverishly begins to inhale the bread at alarming speed. Techno winces briefly, wondering if perhaps this was a choking hazard; but before he can attempt to stop the child, he's gobbling down the last piece of bread, swallowing thickly. Techno watches as the child goes back to staring down at their hands, opening and closing their palms slowly.

And then, to Techno's absolute  _ horror _ , the child looks up to stare at him again, their eyes filling up with some sort of glooey green and red substance.

_ Oh no. _

"Wait!" Techno tries, scrambling forward to flailing his arms around the child, not sure where to touch that won't make this worse, "What are you doing? Why are you excreting colourful liquid from your _eyeballs?!_ "

The child doesn't stop to explain, obviously, when suddenly the strange coloured liquid falls from their eyes in two long streaks down their face, and the child  _ screams.  _ But not like the scream of the children in the village when they play tag or Tommy's cries of outrage at not being allowed outside in the rain when Techno had visited two years ago — not the screams of a  _ child.  _ But rather, a pure and unadulterated shriek of  _ pain _ . The loud enderman screams that Techno hears when he farms them for pearls. The child is crying and in  _ pain. _

"Stop! Stop crying!" Techno raises his voice unwillingly, a foreign feeling of panic setting in, "Please stop! You're hurting yourself!"

Techno fumbles around, still not sure if he should touch the child, and instead reaches behind him to grab another piece of bread from the basket on the table. It falls to the floor, bread and cheese rolling around but Techno doesn't care, instead, he all but shoves the small bread loaf into the child's arms.

The child stops screaming when their hands close over the bread, but the tears are still flowing down in two straight lines, and Techno just  _ knows  _ they're still in pain. Without thinking, Techno wipes his hands over the child's face, trying to not spread the tears anywhere else and just wipe them straight down into his palm.

He half expects the tears to hurt him as well, but they don't feel any different to warm water. "Okay, it's okay. You can have more bread. Don't cry anymore. Eat the bread."

The child is back to staring at him in awe as Techno continues to wipe their tears, and Techno sighs, "Eat. E-A-T the bread." He gestures it, bringing his free hand up to his mouth and pretending to bite down on an invisible piece of bread. "Eat,"

Furrowing their brows and scrunching up their nose like they might start crying again, the child stretches their lips into a straight line, opening and closing their mouth.

Techno looks on a little terrified that the child might bite his arm off, but nods encouragingly, "Uh, yeah. Eat."

"Eeee —" the child suddenly says startling Techno. He pulls his arms away from their face to look down in shock, "Eeeeaa… eee…"

"Eat!" Techno repeats with an inexplicable sense of excitement, "Yeah! Eee-teh. Eat."

Odd eyes are still glistening, but the child looks incredibly pleased with themself when they shakily say, "Eeeeeat."

"You did it! Eat!"

"Eeeeeat!"

"Well done, okay go on now," Techno gestures down to the bread still tightly held in the child's grasp, "Eat."

The child looks sceptical, almost unwillingly to eat the bread they oh so love. Techno wonders if this is the first time the child has ever really been given a second helping, or good food at all. Since bread is hardly an extravagant sort of meal, but to a child he found in the bushes, it might as well have been cooked steak.

_ We have steak in the chest  _ — the voices immediately say as the child continues to mentally debate whether or not to eat the food —  _ let's make him steak in a few days when we run out of fresh bread. _

Techno frowns at them. He wasn't going to keep the child around for that long. Besides, he had been in this one base for too long now, he needed to move somewhere new before word got round of his whereabouts. That was hardly a sort of life experience for a child.

A child which, now that he looks back, has devoured the loaf of bread in the split second Techno had looked away. He's only mildly surprised.

"Eeeeat?" The child asks which  _ is  _ extremely surprising, and Techno doesn't think he could have refused if he tried.

He grabs the piece of bread that had rolled next to him, blowing on it once and then handing it to the child far too fondly for his liking. The voices are laughing at him.

"Yes, eat. Eat as much bread as you want, you little weirdo." Techno sighs, turning away to add more logs to the fire place before he can see the wide mouthed smile from the child.

"Eeeeeat! Eaaaat!"

"Yeah yeah, okay."


	2. WE NEED HELP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear Phil,  
> Remember when you said don't go out looking for trouble? Well, looks like trouble comes to me — because guess what I found in a bush!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS! blood + violence (very brief, very mild and not on purpose)

It's been a grand total of  _ two _ days with the child in his care, two wondrously  _ horrid  _ days filled with more bread that Techno could count and English lessons that seemed to have proven futile — since the only word the child seems to repeat in any correct contact is 'Eat'. Luckily there was no more painful crying (food related at least), since Techno knew now to immediately replace the empty plate with fresh food before the child noticed that he had eaten it all.

The child would eat and eat and  _ eat  _ to their heart's desires the first day Techno found him (assuming they had a heart, Techno wasn't sure on the confirmation of internal organs, if they had any in the first place) — before they'd  _ finally  _ passed out into some sort of food induced coma. There were definitely at least three health problems that came with stuffing children with excessive amounts of bread, but Techno decided that he would tackle one problem at a time.

All things considered, the first night went marvelous. Techno initially debated on where to throw the child down for the night, and was debating the ethics of just placing it in a box with a blanket and perhaps something to chew on (he's joking, mostly), but the voices seemed to cry outrage when he even thought about placing the child anywhere other than his own bed. So, with slight begrudgement, Techno  _ gently  _ lays the child onto the side of the bed closest to the wall, placing one of his spare pillows on his other side so he's completely surrounded with no chances of escape (or falling off in the night and cracking his head open).

Techno lowers himself down onto the other side of the bed, barely holding onto the mattress to not fall off given the child is  _ much  _ bigger than first anticipated — his long winding arms and legs dangerously close to stabbing him in the ribcage if he moved any closer.

So the Blood God sighs and sits up against the headboard, opting to either transcend physical possibilities and become one with his mattress, or to simply waste the night away until the morning. He went with the latter and thus Techno didn't sleep at all, but that's to be expected when the child makes strange noises and has  _ no eyelids.  _

Ever so often, when the child would rustle a little too much or let out a particularly loud enderman purr, Techno would immediately look over to ensure the child wasn't choking on his blanket — only to nearly have his heart jump out of his chest and onto the bloody floor when he sees the child's emotionless and dead-looking eyes staring up at him, unmoving. The only way he can even make sure the child is  _ alive  _ is the gentle rumble of a snore that fills the room.

How it sleeps with their eyes open, or how the child can even function properly without eyelids is an absolute mystery to Techno and upsettingly, he's not sure if he'll ever find out — since the plan was to drop him off at the nearby village in the morning and never come back.

But, of course, the universe has a personal vendetta against the Blood God and nothing goes right the next day.

The child sleeps all throughout the morning, and only begins to stir around lunch time. Techno would have woken them up earlier, since as soon as they're gone the sooner Techno can  _ move _ — but he stops himself short when he sees just how comfortably snuggled up the child is in one of Wilbur's old shirts he found lying around, eyes wide but completely relaxed and asleep. It makes him wonder when the last time the child had ever slept, let alone in a  _ bed. _ So he lets them sleep for a bit longer.

He sits against the headboard for a few more hours, and finally gets up to stretch his back, wincing at the sickening pops and cracks that come with sitting up the whole night. In the calm quiet of the morning, Techno makes a new batch of bread, popping it into the oven along with some other small snacks he can send the child away with, just until he gets used to living with the other children at the orphanage.

He even manages to find time to start writing his monthly letter to Phil, since he probably won't get time to do so after moving bases after dropping off the child. Techno initially debates on whether or not to include the child in the letter at all, since he's going to be long gone by the time Phil receives the letter on the other side of the continent.

But he shrugs, picking up the quill and starting his letter,

> _ Dear Phil, _
> 
> _ Remember when you said don't go out looking for trouble? Well, looks like trouble comes to me — because guess what I found in a bush! _

He frowns, scribbling that out and starting again on a new clean sheet of paper.

Techno gets about halfway into an intense retelling of one of his battles against a Lord Something-ton earlier that week before the child finally wakes up. They hum quietly first, tossing and turning before finally sitting up, rubbing around their sleep mussed eyes (how on earth does  _ that work _ ) and Techno immediately notices the leaves and mud in the child's half-and-half hair, some of what was littering his pillow in dirty patches. Techno scrunches up his nose in disgust.

"I can't drop you off at the orphanage looking like I just dug you out of a grave," he mumbles more to himself than the child, who is still too lost in his post-wake up haze to really process anything. They purr when Techno walks over, his half finished letter forgotten on his desk for now, absentmindedly runs a hand through their hair, grimacing when little twigs poke at his fingers. Did the child fall out of a  _ tree _ ?

Techno walks away with a frown, starting to heat a pot of hot water over the fireplace, opting to quickly run a bath for the child instead of dragging him all the way down to the river to dunk him headfirst in. It was just past midday and if Techno wanted to quickly run down to the nearby village, then he needed to speed this up.

He pours the hot water into the little bucket he uses to collect his water from the stream, and mixes it with some colder water to make sure he doesn't accidentally cook the child medium rare. A quick touch of the water confirms that it's just hot enough to not be scalding but warm and comfortable — so Techno immediately turns back to grab the child.

The child is still wobbling themself awake, silent yawns leaving their lips and staring at their nose tiredly when Techno picks them up under the armpits. He decides to let the child wear Wilbur's shirt, since it's thin enough to not get in the way of the bath and could easily be thrown out afterwards. Holding them at arm's length like a dirty dishcloth and with a grimace, Techno walks on over to the little makeshift child bath.

He isn't entirely sure if the child can swim, and would rather  _ not  _ watch it drown, so he opts to hold the child as he drops him into the water.

It starts to all, truly, go wrong from there.

"Okay, we are going to take a bath," he says slowly, hovering the child above the water bucket. The child lets out some incomprehensible mumble, drooling tiredly onto his arm, "Gross, but sure. I'll take that as a yes. Please don't get my shirt wet."

The moment the child's feet touch the water they stiffen, but Techno's already lowering them further down before he can comprehend exactly why, and the effect is immediate. The child kicks his legs as he descends into the water, his mouth opening and closing but no sound leaves.

Techno frowns as the water falls out the bucket and onto the floor, "It's okay, kid, just stop kicking and we'll be done —"

Techno stops himself when he sees the child's mouth open once more, only it doesn't  _ stop opening.  _ It reaches his ears on either side, the skin ripping and opening and it dawns on Techno that the child is  _ definitely _ some-part enderman. If he had any suspicions before, they're all gone now. A familiar picture of when he kills them for pearls reminds him of the way the child opens his mouth, but there's no sound. Just an agonising silence, their mouth splitting apart.

Techno panics, freezing, and then he realises.

_ Water. _

He rips the child out of the little bucket the exact moment the child cries out that horrid painful  _ scream  _ from the day before, only this time Techno's ears rings and he stumbles back at the sheer volume that erupts from the child's small vocal chords.

The night before flashes past Techno is blurry pictures as his head spins, the child trashing and clawing at his arm, nails digging deep into his arms and dyeing the water red.

How could he have been so  _ stupid.  _ He hasn't slept in a couple days, sure, but that's no excuse for forgetting something as simple as  _ this.  _ He has been scrambling to catch the tears of the child only last night, which although were strange colours felt no different to genuine warm salty  _ tears. Water. _

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Techno whispers to the child as he brings their screaming self close to his chest, his shirt and trousers soaked with water and blood (he's just glad it's his own and not the child's). The child is still screaming in pain, but probably more so now in  _ fear.  _ They claw and try to push themself away from Techno but the man can't bring himself to move, feeling light headed and head ringing as he holds the child steadily. "I'm sorry."

Techno can't even tell if his constant apology can be heard by the child, since their screams are so deafening Techno can't even hear himself over the pain and the  _ voices _ . The voices are  _ outraged. _

_ What have you done? You monster! You murderer! You coward! _

_ This is why Phil doesn't want you around his kids! _

_ This is why you don't deserve a family! _

_ You break everything you touch! Monster! _

_ Why do you try to help when all you do is kill! _

_ You saved this child only to hurt them! _

_ You— _

"—eat?"

Techno blinks, mouth agape as he looks down to the creature in his arms. They've stopped screaming, and now they're shivering, completely soaked to the bone and Wilbur's shirt stuck to their skin. Techno notices that they're both sitting in a pool of blood and warm water. He shifts the child so he's not touching the floor at all, his legs tucked under Techno's arms.

"What?"

The child tips his head to the side, seemingly confused at Techno's distress, "Eeeeeaaat?"

Techno feels a rush of guilt course through his veins, arms beginning to sting from the scratches that run up and down in clear red and pink streaks. He has no idea what just happened.

"Okay, yeah." He manages, shakily standing up, clutching the child to his chest to preserve the last bit of warmth he can offer for now, and walks over to the fireplace on the opposite side of the room, "We can eat."

He kicks a basket from the corner of the room with his hooves so it stops in front of the fireplace, filled with old clothes and fabrics Techno forgets to get rid of, and drops the child in — who grips onto him just a little bit tighter as Techno pulls his small hands away from him. He's not sure why the child that he had just  _ hurt  _ is still so adamant to want to be close to him, their little palms curled up in his shirt and hair as Techno prises their fingers off.

Maybe they want to be close, to have a semblance of control over the situation and to have Techno's physical being as a reminder that the worst of it is over — but this thought only makes Techno want to stay far away. He doesn't want to cause anymore damage.

Moving in a robotic pattern, lost in a strange sort of daze, Techno fills up a small wooden cup with wild berry juice, pouring in some diluted regeneration potion he had hidden under the cabinet from a potion brew a few weeks prior. He slides the juice and the plate of bread in front of the child, who is staring amazed at the little licks of fire that erupts from the fireplace; the orange and gold reflections glistening in their eyes.

"Eat." He says softly, and the child jumps in surprise at his voice, staring up at him with red rimmed eyes that Techno never wants to see again and amazed awe, then jumps again when they notice the plate of warm food. They grin brightly, and Techno turns away immediately, the voices growing restless and ruthless the more he lets his guilt eat away at him.

_ We're sorry;  _ they say now that they've calmed down, sounding more apologetic and upset  _ for  _ him instead of  _ at  _ him. Techno doesn't blame them though, the initial shock and adrenaline still buzzing obnoxiously under his skin. He thinks he might be sick.

So he silently turns to clean the floors plagued with blood and screams. Collecting it all in little dish cloths and draining them out into the bucket. He doesn't think he'll be using it anymore, not after something as horrific as this.

When he's finished, the only sound being the child's content enderman babbling and sound of water and cloth dripping — the suns darkened and the house is lit by nothing but the fireplace. The child's plate is cleared of everything, even the juice is gone, and really, that's all Techno could have wanted after what he had put that poor child through.

He sits a few feet away, his arms covered in new bandages. Techno doesn't plan to get any closer to the child than he already is, his fingers shaking with a newfound and unusual sense of anxiety and panic. Everything seems too loud, even the silence.

Eventually, the child begins to stagger and droop, their head bobbing in and out of consciousness and they try to stay away and stare at the fire some more. Techno can't bring himself to move the child to the bed, and watches as they drift off to sleep in the basket, legs and arms pressed close to their chest as the fire roars warmly in front of them.

Techno sits there for a while, thinking about everything and nothing all at once.

He notices his unfinished letter from that morning patiently awaiting his arrival at the table, and with shaky legs and even shakier hands — Techno starts to write a new letter.

> _ Dear Phil, _
> 
> _ I really need your help. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you thought you could read one of my books without some angst? HAH! you fools! i can't go a day without crying and giving a character more /trauma/
> 
> hope you enjoyed though! :D


	3. WHEN WE SHARE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The child stares at his mouth, and Techno feels slightly self conscious about how his tusks get in the way of his lips sometimes, until he remembers the child has no eyelids and feels incredibly ridiculous for finding something like that embarrassing

"Okay," Techno breathes, his back pressed against the door that separates his bedroom from the rest of the house. It was obviously made in a rush, and judging by how eager the landlord had been to sell it to Techno for such a low price, it's not surprising when the wood has peeled and digs into his back uncomfortably. "You're okay."

This house is only temporary, a base to return to while Techno scavenged the area and occasionally robbed a Lord to feed the villagers. It's dangerous to stay in one place for more than a few weeks at a time, and come next month, Techno would have overstayed his welcome in the small forest town at the bottom of the hill.

But it doesn't look like he'll be able to leave in a while, not while he's temporarily babysitting.

On the other side of the door he can faintly hear the childish babbles and incomprehensible purrs in a language Techno will never understand (Ender was, after all, the hardest language to learn — since there was no definitive alphabet). The child is still sitting in the basket, in front of a long gone fire, a new plate of fresh bread and another cup of regeneration berry juice sits in front of them, their little hands digging into their first meal of the day. They hadn't moved since they woke up a few moments prior, and Techno had dared not to interfere — simply dropping the food and running out immediately.

Techno's hands shake as he digs them into his hair, pulling harshly when his fingers meet his scalp. "It's fine. They're okay."

Pictures and sounds of the previous night fill his senses once more, much like they had been doing all day. Techno hadn't slept a wink, stuck sitting on the porch finishing his letter to Phil, staring into the vast darkness of the night sky as quiet snores echo out of his house. He remembers sending the letter off, placing it on the foot of a crow and whispering to take it to the man who lives in monuments built under the sea and in the sky; but he doesn't remember much else. Just silence, and memories.

The memories are much more diluted now, dissipating and fading quickly — his mind finally tired of replaying the same scene over and over again.

But he doesn't know if he'll soon forget the mortifying experience of having hurt such an innocent child.

Children were never anything Techno was particularly fond of, mainly because he never stuck around to really see them for what they were worth. He had heard people gush about how they complete a family, and bring out the joy in even the darkest of people; but Techno never understood why. After all, children were nothing but weak, defenceless and so very  _ small. _

But he saw how Phil's eyes had lit up when Tommy, age two, had hobbled over to him in his first steps. Or the pride that he let off everytime Wilbur sang a perfect note. Techno didn't understand then, all those years ago when he had visited last, how such a senile experience could evoke such joy out of the iron-fist and headstrong war veteran he had fought with.

Phil laughed when Techno told him this, patting him on the shoulder kindly as he gently rubbed a sleeping Tommy's back as he slept on his lap, "It's alright mate, you'll get it one day. About what a family does to you, what it can do  _ for  _ you."

Techno had frowned then, and he still frowns at the memory — because he  _ still doesn't understand.  _ The child that sits oh-so-innocently and  _ happily  _ in their little basket by the fire had been crying and wailing because of Techno's negligence only a few hours before. This child hardly bought any joy or happiness or  _ peace —  _ they only reminded Techno of what he was.

_ The Blood God.  _ Hands covered in blood and the lost lives of those who dare cross him, hands that are not fit to serve a  _ child. _

Techno tugs at his hair once more before relaxing his fingers, letting his hands fall into his lap.

"...what a family can do for you?" Techno scoffs as he quotes Phil, "That child isn't family. It's just some strange thing I found in my bush, with an even stranger diet."

He drops his head back onto the door with a thud, shutting his eyes and letting the voices shout in anger at him one last time before he shuts them out for a few hours of blessed silence,

_ You monster! _

_ Murderer! _

_ Alone forever! _

_ Coward! _

_ That child will never be safe with you! _

Techno raises a brow at that one, wanting to laugh pitifully, "Don't worry, they won't be sticking around. As soon as Phil replies to my letter, I'll find the kid a better home."

The plan was never to keep him in the first place, after all.

_ Right? _

He doesn't get to entertain this thought however, as before he can continue to wallow in more self pity, the door flies open from behind him, sending him tumbling back onto the floor.

"Hey —  _ ow _ !" He grumbles once he lands onto the floor with a painful  _ thump,  _ the headache already formulating at the back of his head racing to the front in one horrid flash. Techno winces, rubbing his head as he looks up to bring down hell fire on whoever dares interrupt his daily self hatred.

Unsurprisingly, Techno glares up through his dizziness at the only other living creature in his house, only a little spooked when the child looks back with wide eyes, upsidedown as he looks up from were he's sprawled across the floor.

Their lips quiver for a second as they look down at Techno's distressed position on the floor in a less than impressionable fashion, and for one frightful moment, Techno thinks they might cry again. But instead, the child throws their head back to take a huge gasp of air —

And then, they laugh.

A bright and positively happy laugh that only the truly wonderful are able to do. A laugh that seems to never have felt an ounce of hardship, but Techno knows better; he can only imagine the life the child had lived before he ended up in his bushes.

But the fact that the child is able to laugh so joyously despite their troubles, truly makes Techno's chest tighten up.

He pushes that feeling away almost immediately after it shows up, because there is no room for such attachments when the child would be gone in no less than three or four days. Phil always responds to letters at lightning fast speed, sending one of his eagles and hawks to pass messages in emergencies (and Techno assumes a half-enderman hydride baby under the care of emotionally-stunted Blood God constitutes an emergency).

"Okay, okay," Techno grumbles embarrassedly as he pushes himself up into a sitting position on the floor, head pounding, "You can stop laughing at my stupidity now. I didn't even know you knew how to open doors."

This comment only seems to make the child laugh even more, even though Techno's ninety-nine percent sure they don't understand a single thing he's said; but something about the way the child is laughing so much over something as simple as Techno  _ falling  _ down is enough for Techno to keep his other sly comments to himself. So what if the child laughs at him? No one else is here to prove it.

"Get it all out now, laugh all you want." Techno says, crossing his legs beneath him as the child holds their side in pain from laughing so much.

To his surprise, he watches that through laughter, the child copies him and also lowers themself onto the ground; albeit more shakily, given they're doing it with one hand. Since in the other, the child is tightly gripping one of the small bread loaves, fingers digging deep into the soft crust as crumbs fall to the flow.

Techno frowns, waiting for the child's laughter to subside into light giggles before he speaks, "Eat?"

It's only one word, but that alone catches the child's attention immediately. Suddenly, they seem to remember their purpose for walking all the way over to him and opening the door in the first place, as they hold out the crushed loaf of bread with alarmingly vigour, "Eeeeat!"

Techno narrows his eyes suspiciously, looking between the bread and the child, "...yes, eat. You eat?"

The child shakes their head when Techno attempts to push their hand back, pushing it further into Techno's space, "Eeeeat! Eeeeat!  _ Eeeat _ !"

The voices, which had been just as mesmerised by the child's laughter as Techno had finally begin to speak up, all of them shouting at once in inexplicable glee,

_ The child is offering you food! _

_ Eat the bread! _

_ The child is communicating! _

_ They are learning! _

Techno is rendered speechless, gently reaching out to take the crumbling bread into his own hands. The child passes it over happily, smiling widely when Techno holds the bread like it was a delicate treasure in his calloused palms.

"Uh, thank you," Techno stumbles, unsure how to react to this situation (he kind of wants to cry, but he's not sure how), "I am very... happy."

The child is still staring at him with the same expression, definitely not having understood Techno's gratitude.

So he tries again, making sure he mouths every word clearly. "Thank you. I am happy."

The child stares at his mouth, and Techno feels slightly self conscious about how his tusks get in the way of his lips sometimes, until he remembers the child has no eyelids and feels incredibly ridiculous for finding something like  _ that  _ embarrassing.

Techno tries again, for good measure, "Happy. Thank you."

The child scrunches up their nose for a moment, looking incredibly troubled by the spot on Techno's wall, but then Techno realises that they're concentrating on something. Opening and closing their mouth around a letter that has no sound, seemingly trying to figure out the shape of the word.

"Haaaa —" they start, staring harshly into the floor as they try to formulate the correct sounding phonetics.

Techno watches in awe, "Happy? Ha-ppy?"

"Haaaa — haaa?"

"You know what kid, that's good enough." Techno sighs in an incredible feeling of gratitude, grabbing either side of the bread and splitting it through the middle. A good share of it crumbles to the ground between them, but Techno can always clean it up when the child inevitably passes out after their hearty meal. "Well done."

He drops the bigger piece of the crushed bread onto the child's lap, watching as they look at it in alarm. They look like they might refuse it, throw it back into Techno's face; but Techno catches their worried glance and smiles as comfortingly as he can, patting them on the head once (he pulls his hand away immediately though, unsure whether or not he might hit them a little too hard).

"You can have it," he says, carefully grabbing the child's hand and moving it towards the piece of bread, "We can share. Happy."

The child looks as if Techno had just handed them all the mysteries of the world, pupils shaking in astonishment. Perhaps the idea of sharing is new to the child, and while it's not one Techno practises often (After all, what is he to share but trauma and pain?) he would be taken aback if someone had shown him it for the first time as well. It's a little endearing as it is a little sad, since the child is only just discovering things they should've learnt much earlier.

Well, better late than never.

"Eeeat?" They ask softly, looking between their piece of bread and Techno's.

Techno nods as exaggeratedly as he can muster, headache screaming for him to stop but the voices telling him to validate the child are much louder, "Yes! Eat. You. You eat."

They shake their head, nose scrunching up in a newfound seriousness that makes Techno want to laugh. But he doesn't laugh, he doesn't want the child to think he's being made fun of for learning. Though the child quickly moves on, and to his surprise, the kind-of-enderman baby nods, seemingly having decided upon an internal debate about this sole piece of bread.

They go to grab it in both their hands, but stop, before bringing it up to their face instead. The hands are the same two-tone colours as their face, and the child places their palms on either side of their cheeks, and pulls back, exposing their teeth and two slightly longer canines.

Techno marvels at what looks like baby tusks poking out from under the child's lower lip, but is more focused on their hands as he watches in morbid curiosity, having not said or moved while the child does whatever it is they're doing. He doesn't know what they're doing, but he isn't going to stop them.

"Haaaapy!" They suddenly shout, loud and proud, and Techno  _ finally  _ realises that the child is not, in fact, trying to show off their pearly white teeth — but rather, trying to pull a  _ smile. _

Techno well and truly stumbles over his soul, head and throat empty of words and voices and is absolutely  _ starstruck  _ to say the least. The child is not only understanding and  _ communicating _ , but they are  _ happy. _ The voices could be screaming, the world could be  _ burning  _ but Techno would be none the wiser — his all and nothing completely stuck in this moment.

"Yeah…" he manages, the child still pulling the corner of their mouth up in a forced but somehow completely genuine smile, "Happy."

"Eeeeat! Haaaappy!" They say together, having said it once correctly given them the courage to keep going. However, it almost sounds like gratitude. An unspoken,  _ thank you for the food! _

"You're happy because I gave you the bread?" Techno mumbles in slight disbelief, mostly to himself. Simply unable to comprehend that there is a being in this world that is so unabashedly  _ pure,  _ that they find joy in a simple piece of crushed bread.

_ No _ , someone reminds him,  _ the child isn't just happy because of the bread. They are happy because you shared the bread. _

Techno swallows thickly, feeling overwhelmed and upset and  _ happy  _ all at once, "You're welcome."

For a moment, Techno feels as though he should say thank you to the child as well. Sure, nothing much has changed in the long run — after all, Techno is in as much of a horrible position as he was before the child opened the door, still confused and anxious and awaiting Phil's help — but something,  _ something,  _ is a little different.

He's  _ happy.  _ Not rainbows and cakes and all things lovely 'happy' — but happy enough that the voices are calm and watching the child with amazement, and happy enough to take his own piece of bread and bite down, the child doing the same with their own only moments later.

He's happy enough that after they're done with their snacks (or for the child, their meal) and their head begins to droop; Techno moves them both to the messy bed.

Techno doesn't dare sleep on the empty side beside the child, even with the mountain of pillows he's tucked around them, the ever so small inking of anxiety and apprehension to get too close again still bubbling under his skin, but he does place a blanket and pillow on the ground beside the bed. His cape, a lovely royal blue and white gift from Phil, covers his shoulders. The child's faint snores fill the house once more.

And Techno is happy enough that he too, after days of restlessness, allows himself just a moment of clarity, and shuts his eyes.

_ Thank you for sharing your happiness,  _ he thinks softly, the gentle enderman purrs lulling him into a much needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my apology for the last chapter <3 i hope you liked the much needed bonding and comfort!!!


	4. YOU HAVE MAIL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sighs again for the hundredth time that morning alone, grabbing a piece of bread from the pile on top of the furnace and passing it over to the child who stands by his feet, their shoulders pressed against the back of his knees. The child has become awfully comfortable by just being in Techno's space — and against all better judgement, Techno doesn't have the heart to push them away.

The next day, Techno receives a letter.

But it's not from Phil, since instead of a hawk or an eagle delivering the post — it's the  _ postman.  _ Techno is just as confused as him when he finally arrives, and the young man is red in the face — since it's probably not everyday you have to climb a hill and walk through a forest, jump over a ravine to and probably a fair share of mobs, given Techno hasn't cleared the area ever since finding the child, to deliver someone's mail. Techno only feels a little guilty about this, since the moment he opens the door, their red cheeks become a ghostly white.

The postman stares up at Techno in pale fear, pupils shaking, definitely not expecting to see  _ him,  _ "Uh, good — good morning Mr. Blood God sir."

Techno raises an eyebrow, feeling the weight of the enderman-child pressed against the back of his leg, their sleep mussed hair just barely poking out behind his back to stare curiously at the visitor. He moves his cape around a little more, hoping it shields them from the view of the postman; since he's not entirely sure if it's a good idea for a random stranger to know he's in the possession of some strange hybrid  _ child. _

Speaking of strange hybrid children, the two of them had just got themselves ready for the day, Techno wiping himself down with a wet cloth and new clothes, doing the same to the child, but with a dry cloth (and really only wiped their hands and feet) and another one of Wilbur's old sweaters. He braids his hair as best as he can before the child decides to poke their fingers into the loops and folds, and decides that perhaps letting his hair down for the child to play with is fine when there's no one here to document the evidence.

Breakfast was underway before the postman arrived, a huge plate of bread (and some apple slices Techno was hoping the child would try) and wild berry juice waiting in front of the fireplace (the child doesn't seem to like sitting in chairs to eat, so the dinner table lay barren with nothing but Techno's papers and ink).

Thankfully, the child is yet to notice, or simply doesn't know, that their berry juice is actually mixed with a hearty drop of diluted regeneration potion as well. While Techno can't see any physical scars from the bath-incident on the child, he isn't sure of how the child's body and healing work, so it's better safe than sorry. Besides, a little extra healing never hurt anyone.

Though, they seem perfectly fine, practically buzzing with excitement as they stare at the postman. Techno vaguely wonders if they've ever seen another person other than himself, since Techno is yet to discover just  _ how  _ the child ended up in his bushes.

"Hallo," Techno replies a beat later as the postman squirms under his suspiciously gaze, trying his best to sound friendly but it seems to only frighten the postman some more. He frowns when the man flinches, "Can I help you?"

"I have a — a letter! Yes! A letter for you!" They stumble, shakily reaching into their shoulder satchel and rummaging loudly through a large pile of envelopes and papers.

Techno's frown deepens at that, suspicions growing the longer the man kept looking for this famed letter.

No one should really know where he lives, and if they did, they definitely shouldn't be sending him  _ letters  _ like he's some long distance pen pal. It was worrying enough that the postman knew where to find him to deliver the message, which only brought up more concerns about who  _ else  _ knew about his temporary base. Or, if they knew who Techno was (temporarily) living with.

Without thinking Techno drops his hand behind him, patting the child softly on the back — comforted to know that they are there and that they are  _ okay.  _ If this was a threat, Techno hardly thinks they would send it in a  _ letter,  _ but he couldn't help but be worried about what he would do in the chance that someone were to try and apprehend him… or the child (all the more reason to get rid of him before something goes wrong).

Before Techno can think of any more worst case scenarios, the postman finally finds his bearings and pulls out a cream coloured envelope, all but shoving it into Techno's chest before the Blood God could reply.

"Goodbye!" The postman calls in a hurry, and Techno appreciates the politeness through their obvious fear, already running down the path like Techno had released the hell hounds themselves behind him.

He blinks, staring down at the letter in his hands and then briefly at the child by his feet, who looks just as bewildered as he feels. Techno clears his throat, gently nudging the child away from the door and back towards the fireplace, "Go eat, kid. Eat."

He doesn't expect it to work immediately, but to his surprise the child gives him a small smile, and lets go of his trousers to walk back to the fireplace.

Techno watches them stumble away, and doesn't look satisfied until the child settles back down into the basket, their feet tucked under their legs as they excitedly dig into their meal, grabbing the cup with both hands and drinking it all in one large gulp. He doesn't even notice until the voices start laughing at him, but he's smiling fondly at the easily pleased child, even a little prideful when he sees them wipe their mouth of the excess juice with the little napkin Techno had placed under the cup (no doubt having learned that from him after watching Techno drink his tea).

He's noticed that a lot these days, that the child seems to learn the easiest by watching Techno do it first. Whether it be how to put on a shirt, or hold a cup, or table manners — or even how to say  _ words;  _ it was like they needed an example before trying it themselves. Which makes sense, since how else were they supposed to learn?

Techno wonders if this is how Phil taught Tommy how to speak, since in his letter from a few months ago, it sounds like Tommy won't  _ stop  _ speaking after he turned two while Techno struggles to make his (or, the) child say anything other than  _ Eat  _ and an occasional  _ happy  _ (no matter how adorably heart wrenching that may be).

But Techno has an optimistic feeling they'll learn, given they're already understanding and communicating so well after only three days of being found. Techno just hopes that whatever home he finds for the child after Phil's letter arrives will continue to help the child grow their abilities in english.

Regardless, they seem content with just sitting by the fire and eating far too much bread for breakfast — which is calm and orderly enough for Techno right now.

But… then there's this letter.

He frowns at it for a few moments, as if staring at it alone would scare it into submission and it would miraculously disappear — but to no avail, Techno rips it open with his nail and a dissatisfied composure, expecting the worst; A ransom, a threat, a severed cow's tongue (that had been a strange Christmas card) —

But instead, out falls a perfectly pressed daisy, and his eyes widen when he recognises the doodle-like handwriting that comes with,

> _ Dear Technoblade, _
> 
> _ Hello! I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Niki. We met a few years ago when you visited Phil, since at the time I was also visiting my friend Wilbur! We sadly didn't get much time to talk, since I had to leave quite early for my expedition (it was an Enderman preservation project! I remember you seemed very interested in that at the time). _
> 
> _ But no matter, I am writing to you today since I have heard from some of the locals that you're currently living in the old house at the top of the hill, and it just so happens that I've been living in the town by the bottom for the last few years myself. What a coincidence! _
> 
> _ I just wanted to let you know that I run a small handful of businesses in the town centre with a few of my friends! We have a bakery, ice cream shop, a library, flower shop, armory and a fish market coming very soon! My friend also has an Inn, which you are welcome to stay in would you ever need to! This letter is just my way of welcoming you to the area, and since I assume you won't be staying long, I wanted to make sure you were all set to go off on your next journey! _
> 
> _ So, if you need anything from food to armor repairs to information, I am always free to help, just pop round during the day and I'll probably be in the bakery! I would also love to tell you more about my wildlife preservation expedition, as well as hear about your own adventures! _
> 
> _ Hope to see you soon, and if not, I wish you good luck and safety on your next Journey! Say hello to Phil for me if you see him before me! _
> 
> _ Sincerely,  _ _ Niki Nihachu x _

"Ha?" Techno states quite stupidly, feeling ten years lift off his shoulder, a sigh of relief passing his lips when he hears the child copying him.

"Ha!" They cry as Techno reads the letter once more, and twice again for good measure, "Huh!"

No threat, not even one hidden beneath kind words and wishes — but just a friendly welcome and a promise of safety. Techno's not used to this from strangers, though, he supposes Niki isn't exactly a  _ complete  _ stranger.

She was a few years younger than Wilbur, and though Techno wasn't sure where she had come from (or what she really  _ was,  _ since they hardly seemed human let alone  _ mortal)  _ he does know that she stayed with Phil a lot during her travels; which is where she had coincidentally met Wilbur and become his best friend. They were a lovely pair, and Techno remembers a few summers ago when he had visited and listened to the two sing and laugh about everything and nothing.

He also remembered how passionate she was about her little passion projects; saving stray cats in the jungle, opening little food stalls for wandering villagers, cleaning up the oceans of shipwrecks —

Techno stills, reading a specific part of the letter the same time a memory formulates at the back of his mind, being pushed forward by the voices in a hurry.

_ "I'm running an Enderman conservation programme,"  _ Niki had said briefly on one of the last nights she spent at Phil's castle, a baby Tommy playing with the hem of her dress as she wipes down both her and Techno's sword with meticulous ease (she was absolutely terrifying for that),  _ "Where we visit deserts and offer support to them to assimilate into our towns. They’re not so different from us when you can understand what they're saying." _

"I'm an idiot," Techno breathes, wanting to laugh at his slow thought process before immediately running back to his room to grab a few things, "I can't believe I didn't realise before!"

The child startles at Techno's running figure, probably shocked to see the normally slow and monotone piglin-man have a sudden burst of energy after looking at a piece of paper for ten minutes. Their wide green and red eyes follow the caped man as he rushes back and forth, packing a few small things into a cotton bag.

"Okay kid," Techno finally says, grabbing some of Wilbur's clothes from the chest in the corner, holding them up to inspect before throwing it in the general direction of the child, "We're going to visit a friend, who can probably help you a lot more than I can."

The child doesn't react to his words, unsurprisingly, and instead goes to work by swiftly changing into the old but baggy childhood clothes of Wilbur, a piece of bread still in their mouth as they poke a leg through the frayed trousers.

Techno leaves the child to their privacy while he moves to the kitchen, grabbing some fruit and more potions  _ just in case.  _ Techno had eliminated most, if not  _ all _ , worthy threats in the general area of the village; so there will probably be no need for such potions and weapons. Yet, this sense of security and safety only worries the Blood God even more, as he packs an extra potion of swiftness.

It's barely past mid day, yet Techno has a feeling that if they do find Niki, there would be more than enough questions to take their little journey all the way till night time. And while Techno has faith in his abilities, he doesn't know how well traveling with a half-enderman child in the night in a  _ forest _ would go — so an overnight and emergency escape bag were in order.

After a few moments of stressful packing and perhaps a little  _ too much  _ emergency packing, the child hobbles into the kitchen, nearly tripping over their own feet.

Techno stops floundering around like a headless chicken to look at the child's clothes unimpressed, frowning at the way their sleeves cover their hands and the trousers pool around their ankles.

He sighs, kneeling down and holding out a hand for the child to reach out to first.

That was another thing Techno was trying to do; let the child decide what to do for themself. Since now that he had got a fairly good understanding the child  _ did  _ have their own consciousness, it probably wasn't healthy for Techno to take the initiative and instigate everything first.

So he feels immense joy when the child stares at his outstretched hands for a few seconds, before walking forward and showing him their own hands.

Techno smiles encouragingly, nodding as he begins to fold the child's sleeves so they don't cover their hands, "Well done. Happy."

"Haaappy!" They reply, wiggling their fingers when Techno finishes folding their sleeves. Without prompting they then immediately drop themselves onto their floor, raising their feet up and placing it into Techno's hands — assumingly to make him cuff the ends of the trousers the same way he did their sleeves.

Techno doesn't melt at that, definitely not, he instead clears his throat and begins to fold the ends of Wilbur's old trousers, opting to explain their impromptu adventure again,

"Okay, so, we're going to the village, okay? There is someone there who might know where you came from, or how I can get you back to your family." Techno informs softly as the child sways their feet in Techno's grasp, babbling to themself quietly, "We might need to stay there for the night, so I packed some of your blankets and more of Wilbur's clothes."

"Burrrrr," the child says, before laughing to themself at the funny way the sound leaves their mouth, "Burrrrrrr!"

Techno assumes they're playing around with Wilbur's name, and he's not sure why this fills him with such amounts of fondness. Perhaps it's because Techno just  _ knows  _ Wilbur would love to meet the child, and something tells him that the child would love to hear Wilbur sing and play his guitar equally as much.

His smile turns a little watery when he reminds himself that they'll probably never meet, and not for the first time in the last couple days does Techno wonder if he's doing the right thing by trying to get rid of the child. But, by a bitter reminder of fate, Techno can almost  _ hear  _ the child's pained screams echo in his mind from the night previous — and realises that no matter how many words he teaches them or how many batches of bread he makes;

The Blood God is not fit to raise a child; much less a child he knows nothing about.

He sighs deeply, gently dropping the child's feet back onto the ground, patting them once before getting up from the floor.

The child is still giggling to themself, twirling their fingers through the bands of the shirt, but are quick to follow Techno as he moves from the floor back to the kitchen counter. Techno forces himself to look away, even when the child glances up to give him a bright smile, completely unaware of the innertermoil that Techno continues to face.

He sighs again for the hundredth time that morning alone, grabbing a piece of bread from the pile on top of the furnace and passing it over to the child who stands by his feet, their shoulders pressed against the back of his knees. The child has become awfully comfortable by just  _ being  _ in Techno's space — and against all better judgement, Techno doesn't have the heart to push them away.

Who knows the last time the child felt such warmth from another person? Techno didn't even know the last time  _ he  _ had been close to someone like this before.

"Eat up," he mumbles defeatedly as the child eagerly takes the bread from him, their smile growing tenfold, "It's going to be a long walk down this godforsaken hill."

"Haaaaappy!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just think they deserve to be happy. miss niki nihachu to the rescue!


	5. TOYS OF GOLD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sheesh," Techno teases kindly as he rubs up and down their back, "Such big emotions for such a tiny kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for the wait!

All things considered, Techno should have expected this.

"Come on kid," Techno urges desperately for the hundredth time, looking nervously down at the child hidden under his cape and then the bustling sound of the townspeople. "It's okay. Please come out from under there."

With the evening drawing closer, the small town at the bottom of the hill shines in a soft afterglow of the day, the bright sun inching closer and closer to the west horizon; so the townspeople are all out and enjoying the last light of the day before it comes to a close. Techno can faintly hear the laughter of children running through the streets mixing with the shouts of merchants, the overall gentle hum of voices and animals weaving through the town busily, but peacefully. It's a lovely, tight knit community of people, much nicer than some of the town Techno had visited prior.

It's not a big town by any means, but definitely a decent amount that Techno still, through the laughter and kindness, feels a little apprehensive to enter the centre and be exposed.

He just never stopped to consider that the child, who had only learnt what bread was  _ yesterday _ may not react easily when faced with the sudden discovery of  _ hundreds of people. _

Techno winces inwardly at his own idiocy, so distracted by the prospect of talking to Niki about the kid that he doesn't even stop to consider what that journey may entail.

The initial venture down the hill itself went swell, and perhaps that's what filled Techno with such a false sense of optimism. The child, though long limbed by nature, was still a stumbling and waddling mess, and most of the way down they were clutching Techno's cape or glued to his leg like a leech — and Techno, not wanting to hurt the child nor prolong their journey, simply allowed himself to be used as free transportation.

Every once in a while, when not distracted by a butterfly or an angry looking squirrel; the child would babble quietly in a language Techno had grown to listen to peacefully, though not be able to understand. Occasionally the child would say something with a particular tone, and Techno would hum and nod in agreement to appease their expectant gaze.

The child was always incredibly happy after getting an answer from Techno, so at least whatever the Blood God was agreeing to made the kid enjoy themself.

Though, this sunny disposition was almost completely eradicated the moment the town finally came into view, the child instantly taking cover under Techno's cape, startling the man so much that he just completely freezes just on the outskirts of the street.

They let out a chorus of muffled (sad sounding) babbles, their voice quiet as they speak directly into Techno's leg, his large blue cape (a gift from Phil) wrapped around their head and shoulders protectively. Techno awkwardly pats them on the back, looking and smiling nervously at people walking past, all staring at him with concerned eyes.

Before an angry mob begins to chase him under suspicions of kidnapping and harbouring strange hybrid children, Techno gently pulls the child off of his leg (with much difficulty, since the child is tethered to him like he's a lifeline), leaning down to speak properly.

The moment one of his knees touch the gravel and they meet eyes, the child all but  _ throws  _ themself into Techno, choking him slightly as their arms come around to hang onto his neck tightly.

Techno lets out a slightly embarrassing ' _ hugwaf! _ ' sound as he gets the air knocked out of him, almost tumbling back from the sheer force the child pushes onto him, brain rattling in his head at the sheer shock of it all. The voices all explode at once, shouting and screaming as Techno grabs onto the child's torso before either of them collapse onto the ground and twist something important.

_ THE CHILD IS HUGGING US! _

_ Attempted murder? _

_ DON'T BREAK THE CHILD! GENTLE! _

_ HUG HIM BACK! _

_ Don't move do not move freeze don't move at all don't — _

_ PROTECT! _

They're shaking their head exaggeratedly, knocking into Techno's chin, repeating over and over again, "Haaaappy! Happy!"

Techno frowns in confusion, "Well you sure as hell don't sound happy."

"Haaappy!" The child cries once more, finally pulling their head out from the crook of Techno's chin, to show to the Blood God's absolute  _ horror _ , tears welling up in their eyes. They shake their head once more, "Haaappy."

_ Oh god,  _ Techno inwardly groans to himself as he immediately pulls a small handkerchief out from his pocket, all but covering the child's face with it. His fingers shake as he gently dabs their eyes before the tears can fall and leave burn streaks, terrified as sounds of a few nights before suddenly come forward in his mind.

Techno takes a deep breath in, shakily, "Buddy, you're scared. Not happy." He clarified sounding pitiful. The child was trying to tell him that he  _ wasn’t  _ feeling happy, but didn't know the word for it. Techno continues to feel an overwhelming wave of  _ sorrow.  _ "S-C-A-R-E-D. Scared."

The child blinks back tears, one of their hands clutching Techno's shoulder tightly. They're taking deep and heavy breaths in and out far too quickly, hiccuping through the sudden overwhelming fear they don't understand, "Haaa — haaappy?"

"Sccaaarrred." Techno shakes his head, speaking slowly and moving his mouth to create the phonetic letters more clearly, "Scared."

"Sssss," they sniff pitifully, chest heaving and hiccups still jumping in their chest, but the arm on Techno's shoulder begins to loosen its tight grip as the tears stop threatening to fall, "Sssscared."

Without thinking too much, Techno grabs the child on either side of their arm and pulls them to his chest, holding their head close to his heart with a gentle hand. For as long as their arms and legs might be, they seem so impossibly  _ small.  _ Techno's entire hand nearly covers their head, and the moment the child's small fists ball up into his shirt, Techno immediately stands up, carrying the child in his arms and their head is buried in the crook of his neck.

"Breathe with me kid," he whispers softly, patting the child on the back as they continue to panic and breathe too quickly. "It's okay now."

Techno exaggerates his breathing for a few seconds, looking up at the sky as his chest puffs out slowly and back in, the child's trembling frame moving in sync with his breathing. In and out. In and out.

Techno doesn't move forward into the town or back up the hill immediately, waiting perfectly still just in case the child wants to kick or scream or push away from him — but it never comes. Instead, Techno holds them tightly in his arms, their long limbs folding into a small fetal position as their warm face lays hidden in the fluff of the cape.

With one hand firmly holding the child in place, Techno grabs the opposite side of the cape and pulls it over the child, covering them protectively with the warm material. He covers their head as well, but leaves room for their face to pop out over his shoulder, essentially shielding him from the world unless he were to come out on his own. No one would know they were hidden there, as it could easily be passed off for a weapon or bag.

The child freezes for a moment as Techno gently folds the cape around them, before they melt into his arms.

Techno doesn't think he could put them down even if he wanted to. Not when he feels their erratic heart rate slowly begin to slow down, the rhythm of their heart beat matching Techno's own. Their sad and sorrowful whimpers begin to sound more and more like the absentminded and happy babbles of content.

" _ Sheesh _ ," Techno teases kindly as he rubs up and down their back, "Such big emotions for such a tiny kid."

The child says something in reply, though it's quiet and muffled as they speak directly into Techno's shoulders, but they sound much calmer than before. So Techno nods, humming in agreement, before tentatively taking one single step forward.

He waits.

But the child doesn't even seem to notice, or if they do, they feel much better about entering the town now that they're pressed close to the most threatening person in the general area and hidden from any prying eyes.

Secretly, Techno feels a lot more at ease too, though he would die than say that out loud.

It goes a lot better from then on.

Techno walks slowly and carefully, not wanting to startle the child back into a people-induced panic. He wonders for a moment, if this frightful demeanour was caused by the child's enderman side, and their inability to maintain eye contact without losing their minds. Endermen were strange creatures in that regard, calm and collected, sometimes even lovely qnd helpful creatures — and they never attack unless provoked first —

Or if you look them in the eye, strangely enough.

Techno frowns, shaking his head. No, that can't be right; after all, the child has no issue looking at Techno in the eye — though, there is no saying the child has ever  _ seen  _ anyone else before, so maybe they haven't developed that mechanism yet.

Or they don't mind if it's Techno.

Deciding that that is a deep and heart wrenching thought Techno would rather  _ not  _ approach when exposed to the world, he turns his attention back to the hesitant and still shaken child. Though, about a minute or two of their walk, the number of patrons grows significantly the more as they walk into the main area, the child's own curiosity begins to flutter. Their head, previously buried in the crook of Techno's neck, jerkily looks up and around, still firmly hidden under the blue cape and fluff — but beginning to peak through to see the surroundings.

Techno watches the child begin to slowly uncurl themself and start to look around in awe at the dozens of shops and colourful clothes and different types of people, different foods and spices mixing in the air from the vendors. The Blood God smiles silently when the child's head pokes out completely, and the cape around their head falls down around their neck; but he doesn't say anything. He watches fondly and keeps on walking.

He doesn't attempt to put the child down, not even after they see perfectly fine with the town. Their small fists and still buried deeply in the fur of his cape, perhaps worried Techno might drop them in the middle of the centre to fend for themself (he wasn't a  _ monster _ ) — though that's enough for Techno to tighten his hold on the child and continue forth.

He tries not to think about how the next time Techno walks along this path, he won't have the kid with him. While talking to Niki is the main priority, both for himself and the child's sake, Techno would be lying if he didn't admit he was also keeping an eye out for the orphanages and schools.

As small as the town may be, Techno's surprised to see the dozens of shops and stalls covering the streets. Lamps wrapped in colourful paper giving each store a bright and unique colour, painting the cobbled paths blues and purples and greens. The child's eyes are mesmerised as they stare down at Techno's feet in awe, pointing to the different colours and speaking quickly in their language.

Techno nods, "That's red. And that's blue. Oh, that one is —"

"Moo!" The child cries suddenly, and Techno pauses, looking at the particular lamp in question.

"Uh, no, not moo. That's green."

"Mooooo!" 

Furrowing his brows in confusion, Techno arches his neck around the corners of the stalls to see what  _ Moooo _ the child is so eagerly trying to show him, since they're bouncing excitedly in his arms. The child pats his shoulder vigorously, pulling his shirt forward as if leading him.

Techno snorts at their burst of energy, but let's himself follow the child's happy cries, and finally, they stumble upon the  _ Mooo  _ in question.

It's a toy cow, amongst other things.

"Mooooo!" The child whoops directly into Techno's ears, suddenly plunging out of the Blood God's arms in an unfruitful attempt to dive straight into the stall, the shopkeepers table covered in small animal and mob toys. Techno struggles to juggle the child in his arms for a moment, before they finally calm down, one arm still reaching down to try and pick up the straw and yarn toys.

Techno sighs, looking at the child and then at the toy, before shaking his head in defeat. He looks up to meet the eyes of the old shopkeeper, a mischievous and knowing glint in their old grey eyes as he smiles kindly at him.

"How much are they?" Techno asks (the voices are laughing at him).

The shopkeeper tuts, throwing his hands in the air like Techno's question has purposely offended his first born child, "Money?  _ Pah _ ! They're free!"

Techno blinks stupidly.

Rolling their eyes, the shopkeeper turns his attention to the child, who's looking equally as baffled as Techno, "Which one would you like, little one?" He vaguely gestures down to the many little toys, which seems to convey enough context for the child to start jumping in excitement once more.

"Moooo!" They cry, patting Techno's shoulder and chest as the shopkeeper grins fondly, moving to pick up the small brown and white spotted cow toy.

But all of a sudden, the child shakes his head vehemently, frowning, "Mooooo!" They cry more urgently.

Techno turns his head to face them, their black and white hair tickling his cheeks and nose, "That is a moo. It's a cow."

The child obviously disagrees, shaking his head as the shopkeepers smile fades slightly, "He's a bit young, ain't he? I wonder if…"

Before Techno can say something, the shopkeeper moves his hand to the toy beside the cow, a wolf, but the child only seems more upset, whining as they shake their head and Techno's heart drops as they sniffle. Hesitantly, the shopkeeper moves his hand once more, this time above a small pink pig.

The child grins, "Moooo!"

(The voices are absolutely losing their mind.)

The shopkeeper's smile returns once more, smiling wickedly as Techno's cheeks flare into a deep red.

"That's  _ not  _ a moo," Techno grumbles under his breath as the child reaches out for the small toy, "It's a literal pig."

"Oh hush, he's got the right idea. Besides," the shopkeeper chastises kindly as he meets Techno's unimpressed glare, "He's obviously picked it because it reminds him of you."

Techno feels incredibly warm and fluttery, and he sputters out an intangible current of words, "I — we — you can't —"

"Moooo!" The child cries, turning to face Techno so quickly they nearly knock into his nose. With a punch of force, the child slaps the toy pig over Techno's face, beaming up at him with wide and glitter eyes, "Mooo!"

Techno ignores the way  _ everyone  _ around them on the cobbled path and surrounding shops have stopped to coo at the sight, and especially ignores the happy tightness of his chest as the child pats his cheek softly with the toy.

He clears his throat, looking out the corner of his eye at the shopkeeper, "Uh, you said these were free?"

He nods, "Of course." But then he seems to pause, smiling wider, "Oh actually, it's only free if you get two. So pick another one."

"You just came up with that on the spot," Techno argues as the child begins to pull at his eyelashes in awe.

"Hm, no, no I didn't. Take another you, Mr. Blood God."

"But you — oh, for the love of…" groaning tiredly and narrowly missing getting stabbed in the eye, Techno grabs the nearest straw toy to him without looking. He glares at the shop keeper, "Satisfied?"

They grin, "Good choice."

Raising a brow (one that isn't being flattened by the child and their wandering fingers), Techno gently lifts the child higher onto one arm, peering down at the other to inspect the toy.

His eyes widen —

It's an enderman.

"Ha?" Techno can't help but let the surprised sound escape him, looking incredulously at the toy and then at the grinning shopkeeper, "How did you —?"

"Thanks for stopping by." They reply curtly, and it might be the trick of the light, but Techno  _ swears  _ he sees their eyes sparkle. "Hope the two of you look after them well."

Techno flounders for a moment, confused and warm and  _ content  _ all at once — but then the child pokes him in the eye and drags him out of the daydream, and Techno doesn't waste another moment before he swiftly hoists the child higher on his waist, turning away and briskly walking further down the path of colourful lanterns and small shops.

"Mooo!" The child continues to cry happily, playing with the toy with one hand and gently poking Techno's cheek with the other.

Techno slows down his steps when they finally enter the food section of the market, smells of spices and sweets suddenly stronger and closer than before. He ponders for a moment;

_ Hope the two of you look after them well. _

Glancing down at the small straw enderman in his hand, Techno feels his heart swell. He grips it tightly, before gently placing it safely into the small pocket of his trousers, tucking it away from the world. He then brings his hand up to rub up and down the child back, partly to soothe the child's overflowing giddiness and excitement — but to mostly calm himself down, listening to them babble happily about  _ Mooos _ and  _ Haaaappys _ and words he doesn't even understand.

(Techno has a feeling the shopkeeper wasn't just talking about looking after the toys.)

The smell of bread is close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know its been incredibly sad and tough in the dream smp currently, so i hope this fluffy au has made you all feel better! i'm currently writing a fic about techno finding out about ranboo's family in snowchester, so i felt inspired to write this kid fic as well as that one!! hope u liked it <3

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know what you think! and come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/orpheusaki?s=09) !


End file.
